Horseshoe Canyon (Emery and Wayne counties, Utah)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Holy_Ghost_Panel%2C_Great_Gallery.jpg/300px-Holy_Ghost_Panel%2C_Great_Gallery.jpg)
Horseshoe Canyon, formerly known as Barrier Canyon[
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/GreatGalleryMiddle.jpg/220px-GreatGalleryMiddle.jpg)
Human presence in Horseshoe Canyon has been dated as far back as 9000-7000 B.C., when Paleo-Indians hunted large mammals such as mastodons and mammoths across the southwest. Later inhabitants included the Desert Archaic culture, the Fremont culture, and Ancestral Puebloans. Occupation by the Fremont and Ancestral Puebloans was relatively brief; it is believed that the canyon was abandoned by Native American peoples by 1300 A.D.
The Great Gallery is one of the largest and best preserved collections of
![The Great Gallery, Canyonlands National Park, October 2007 photograph](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/GreatGalleryPanel.jpg/600px-GreatGalleryPanel.jpg)
Access
The Horseshoe Canyon trailhead is located on the west rim of the canyon. It can be accessed from
To see the rock art, visitors must descend 750 vertical feet (228 m) to the canyon bottom and hike approximately 3 miles (4.8 km). The hike from the West Rim trailhead to the Great Gallery is roughly 6.5 miles (10.5 km) round trip, and requires 3 to 6 hours to complete. The trail is fairly well marked, but reaching the Great Gallery requires a certain amount of stamina and endurance, particularly in the heat. Three other significant panels of rock art are passed en route to the Great Gallery.
See also
- List of canyons and gorges in Utah
- Bluejohn Canyon, tributary of the Horseshoe, site of Aron Ralston's accident
- National Park Service
- Koyaanisqatsi, a film that uses images from the great gallery
References
- ^ Soulliere, Sandra J; Lee, Gregory K; Martin, Clay M (1988), Mineral resources of the Horseshoe Canyon North Wilderness Study Area, Emery and Wayne Counties, Utah, U.S. G.P.O. ; Denver, CO : For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey, retrieved August 17, 2019
- ISBN 978-0-912494-27-2
- ISBN 978-0-00-692025-0
- ^ Utah's famous Canyonlands rock art unexpectedly recent, By Brian Maffly, August 27, 2014, The Salt Lake Tribune
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Canyonlands National Park - Horseshoe Canyon
- Canyonlands National Park - History of Horseshoe Canyon
- Canyonlands National Park - Archeology of Horseshoe Canyon, online-book 74 pages
- Wilderness Utah - Description and Photos of Horseshoe Canyon
- Barrier Canyon Style Rock Art